Prep boys basketball: Hercules gets best of Terra Linda for second time this season

The new blockbuster movie doesn't come out until after the first of the year, but the Terra Linda High boys basketball team has seen Hercules enough already.

For the second time in the first two weeks of the season, the Trojans tangled with the Titans — this time in Saturday's consolation championship of the Red Brown Tourney at Drake.

And for the second time, Terra Linda (2-3) was not quite good enough to take out Hercules as the Titans held on for a 49-45 victory.

"We played them before (a 50-47 loss on Dec. 3) and we knew we were going to have a tough time with them," Terra Linda coach Steve Farbstein said. "We battled, but they give us trouble because they are quicker than we are."

Behind guard Beau Keeve's game-high 25 points, the Trojans kept it close and actually tied the score at 42-42 with under two minutes remaining, but the Titans' decisive advantage on the boards ultimately was more than Terra Linda could overcome.

"They're a long team and they are good athletes," said Keeve, who had a team-high six rebounds. "But sometimes I think they wanted the rebounds more than us."

That was especially true in the first quarter when Hercules built a nine-point lead, its biggest of the game, and finally led 18-13 at the end of the period.

Terra Linda, however, turned up the heat at the defensive end of the court in the second quarter, holding the Titans to one basket and five points, and trailed only 23-22 at intermission.

"We work on our defense hard in practice everyday," Keeve said."We take pride in that part of our game. It's always a big focus."

Hercules maintained a lead through the third period and cashed in on a couple of fast-break baskets to go up 36-30. Keeve answered with a pull-up jumper just before the buzzer and the Trojans needed to find a way cut into a four-point deficit.

And they did for awhile. Kirby Dederian hustled to collar his own rebound after a missed shot from the perimeter and hit a follow-up shot and 6-foot-3 center Zach Able powered inside for a layup to knot the score at 40-40.

Hercules' 6-4 forward Marquis Jones came off the bench and scored in the paint, but Keeve countered with a drive to the basket to tie the score at 42-42.

With 1:06 remaining, Jones pulled down a defensive rebound and speedy Joshua Lars outran the Terra Linda defense for a fastbreak basket to give the Titans the lead for good.

Hercules outrebounded Terra Linda 30-20 for the game.

"We knew rebounding against this team was going to be an issue," Farbstein said. "And it was."